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4 thoughts on “Oh Deer!”

Check out the prices … “House” Baratheon get’s $55 while plain old “Vintage Inspired David” can only command $7.99. Sheesh … I’m a journalist and I never realized that if I buy a 99 cent trinket from China and give it a fancy name, I can really make money. “House of …” sort of like wine names.

Bet I can find this necklace under Supplies when I choose “least expensive” first. I’m off to make a lot of money today with those deer deers …..

According to Etsy these are all handmade by sellers who make the exact same thing because they’re popular, not because they’re mass produced in a factory. Should you not agree with this you will be promptly muted.

I am a reseller on etsy. I am an American living in Korea. I used to sell handmade scarves on Etsy, but I realized that was a losing game. I was tempted to sale handmade, traditional Korean jewelry, but when I saw the stats on what people doing that are making (10 sales a year) compared to resellers ( as high as 5k sales per month, markedup 2000%), the choice was obvious. It’s clear Etsy never gave a fuck about handmade after 2007 or so, as people with mass listed Chinese shit from that time are still operating. As for Koreans, we can buy most of the stuff you see on Etsy pages for about $.50 to $1.5, and typically sell it for $7-15, and some people go as high as mid twenties. It’s really more about SEO and photos than it is about pricing strategy. The airhead buyers are the real problem. I at least make an attempt to offer unique stuff, and some of our stuff is produced in our shop by well paid employees, so I do feel a tinge of hatred at the sweatshop produced shit that idiots throw their dollars at. I really enjoy reading etsy’s forums talking about “all the fine craftsmen living in the East”— what a bunch of bullshit. Every single seller in China, Korea, or HK is pushing the same fucking junk. Korea’s is a notch above, but surely it’s not the type of products Etsy was originally designed to market. However, given that Etsy will approve of it, I don’t intend to stop. it beats the hell out of Ebay. I really enjoy seeing American’s resell our shit we sell to them at EVEN HIGHER prices.

I guess my point in all this is to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry Etsy screwed you guys. I’m sorry I will continue to undercut you, even though our niche is very different and it’s obvious to anyone who spends two seconds looking at my store that I’m reselling shit. And I’m sure it’s been obvious to Etsy for years now. Create art for art’s sake, and if you can make a buck doing it more power to you.

And if you’re ever in Seoul, stop by Namdaemun market and stock up. For a $1,000 outlay, you can bring back 30,000 on Etsy if you’re patient enough and have enough packing tape.

Etsy continues the March of Blandness with the newest thing they are “testing” (which means if enough people HATE it they will make it the newest “improvement”). It seems they are now going to take away SHOP BANNERS! The screen shot I saw was horrid, nothing to distinguish it from any other shop, very “new site” looking, cheap…IDK it gets harder and harder to stay there but after trying so many other it seems like it’s the only game in town.